Super Rugby Pacific playoff picture taking shape
There are four rounds of action left in the Super Rugby Pacific regular season and it’s getting tight for quarter-final spots.
A lot can happen with up to 20 competition points to play for in the final four games for each team, as the Hurricanes, Blues, Brumbies and Chiefs fight it out to finish as the top seed.
Here’s how the quarter-finals would play out if the season ended today.
1-Hurricanes v 8-Fijian Drua
The Hurricanes (9-1) sit one point clear at the top of the table following their latest win over the Waratahs on Friday. The only times the Canes have finished top of the table were in 2015, when they lost the final to the Highlanders, and in 2016, when they claimed their first and only title. The Drua are three points clear of ninth-placed Moana Pasifika.
Previous encounter: Hurricanes 38
Drua 15 (April 19).
Games remaining: Hurricanes v Blues (A), v Moana Pasifika (H), v Chiefs (A), v Highlanders (H).
Fijian Drua v Force (A), v Reds (H), Highlanders (A), v Reds (H).
2-Blues v 7-Highlanders
The Blues sit just behind the Hurricanes but all that can change when they host the top-of-the-table clash at Eden Park on Saturday. Vern Cotter’s side finish with three home games against fellow Kiwi franchises.
As it stands, they will play the Highlanders in the quarter-finals. The two teams face each other in a fortnight. The Highlanders sit seventh, five points clear of Moana Pasifika. The southern men just missed out on the playoffs last year and haven’t had a playoff win since a 2016 quarter-final victory over the Brumbies in Canberra.
Previous encounter: Blues 37
Highlanders 29 (March 1). Games remaining: Blues v Hurricanes (H), v Highlanders (H), Crusaders (A), v Chiefs (H). Highlanders v Crusaders (H), v Blues (A), v Fijian Drua (H), v Hurricanes (A).
3-Brumbies v 6-Rebels
An all-Australian clash is shaping up as the Brumbies (8-2) hold third and the Reds and Rebels are fighting over fifth and sixth. The Brumbies and Rebels clashed in round one and meet again in three weeks. The Brumbies will want a home quarterfinal locked in before the final regularseason trip to Perth. The Rebels (5-5) travel to Brisbane this week, where a defeat will see them lose more ground on the Reds.
Previous encounter: Brumbies 30 Rebels 3 (February 26).
Games remaining: Brumbies v Waratahs (A), v Crusaders (H), v Rebels (H), v Force (A). Rebels v Reds (A), v Chiefs (H), v Brumbies (A), v Fijian Drua (A).
4-Chiefs v 5-Reds
The Chiefs (7-3) finish with three games on the road and face the top two Hurricanes and Blues in the final fortnight. The last time the Chiefs failed to make the playoffs was in 2011, with that post-season streak looking to continue. The Reds (5-5) end the regular season against the two bottom teams, the Force and Waratahs. The Chiefs eliminated the Reds in the quarter-finals last year before going on to lose the final to the Crusaders.
Previous encounter: Reds 25 Chiefs
19 (March 9).
Games remaining: Chiefs v Moana Pasifika (A), v Rebels (A), v Hurricanes (H), v Blues (A).
Reds v Rebels (H), v Fijian Drua (A), v Force (H), v Waratahs (A).